President Obama’s speech combines rhetoric with hope

There had never been an American president who gave a speech like President Obama did this morning to the shared world of America and Islam.

It was brave in its vulnerability.

The president of the United States stood alone at the podium of Cairo University, looked the world in the eye, and then hoped to speak something new into existence.

The president unraveled there a masterpiece of political art that I believe our children will study in history, political science and communications classes in years to come.

President Obama redefined the War on Terror as a war that brings the Middle East and America together.

He redefined it as a shared struggle. A jihad, not between the Muslim World and the West, but against those who dehumanize any of us.

The War on Terror, President Obama seemed to be saying, now recognizes the Arabs who have been killed by violent political extremists as much as any New Yorker on 9/11, any Israeli killed when a bomb is detonated or any Palestinian refused their identity and suffering as the Israeli settlements expand.

He spoke of a hope to see the same shared desires connecting Washington, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Egypt, Israel and Saudi Arabia.

But first we must stop being “defined by our differences,” he said. Because when we do, we “empower those who sow hatred rather than peace, those who promote conflict rather than the cooperation that can help all of our people achieve justice and prosperity. This cycle of suspicion and discord must end.”

I could see Dick Cheney and Osama Bin Laden cringing at their dislike for this attempted new reality.

But Obama went even further.

“America and Islam are not exclusive and need not be in competition,” Obama said as he tried to convince us that we are actually not just facing the same threats but also sharing each others achievements.

“Instead, Islam and America overlap, and share common principles – principles of justice and progress, tolerance and the dignity of all human beings,” Obama said.

No longer did I feel like it was us versus them, but just us.

Islam, President Obama proclaimed, has been part of America from the beginning. Islam has benefited the most honored areas of our society and its achievements.

Mosques are found in every state and “when the first Muslim American was recently elected to Congress, he took the oath to defend our Constitution using the same Holy Quran that one of our Founding Fathers – Thomas Jefferson – kept in his personal library.”

It is true that, “It’s easier to start wars than to end them. It’s easier to blame others than to look inward,” as the president said.

But if we can recognize that we are all living our lives based on the same principles of treating each other as we would wish to be treated, maybe we can reject notions those who have divided us try to force down our throats.

Maybe we can start by creating a better understanding of Islam and America and do it for each other.